World League

Arena Arizona
Spectators: 7499 (Terracing: 5625, Seating: 1725, VIP seats: 149) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Lyuboslav Penev took the kick off in the first half of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Roman Bide in the 3rd minute of play forced A A Arizona's goalkeeper Hu Zhen Hong to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. The crowd rose to their feet as A A Arizona's Humberto Bastos slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Sturle Åsland. That made the score 1-0 after 7 minutes of play. Åsnes's Sturle Åsland proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 10th minute of the match, managed to save Åsnes from getting a goal against them. Kim Alnes blasted a shot towards the goal in the 12th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Hu Zhen Hong having to make a save. When Roman Bide fell near the penalty area in the 18th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Åsnes's protests and gave Roman Bide a yellow card for diving instead. When A A Arizona's Lyuboslav Penev in the 20th minute got a chance for a shot 20th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Åsnes's goalie prevented a goal. Roman Bide fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 22nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Hu Zhen Hong having to interfere. Through an outstanding action, after 24 minutes, Sturle Åsland successfully got his hands on the ball before it slid into the goal at the right post. Tor-Kristian Fosse kicked well hit freekick during the 25th minute of the match. After a defensive mix-up in Åsnes's zone, Natã Pereira stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Sturle Åsland came out of the goal and Natã Pereira tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Lyuboslav Penev sent away a hard shot on goal in the 28th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Lyuboslav Penev might have been able to make a better finish in the 35th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Sturle Åsland. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Lyuboslav Penev ran back to his position shaking his head. 37 minutes into the game, Roman Bide cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 1-1. Hu Zhen Hong was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. In the 40th minute Humberto Bastos shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Sturle Åsland saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The audience thought a goal was coming when Natã Pereira got free with Sturle Åsland in the 47th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. The score stood at 1-1 when the half time whistle went. Both sets of players seemed reasonably pleased with how the match was going.

A A Arizona made a substitution. Cláudio de Mendonça replaced Humberto Bastos. Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Kim Alnes to make the kick off. In the 54th minute, Lyuboslav Penev ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Sturle Åsland was frozen by the shot and now it was 2-1. Maicon Cavalcante struck a weak shot in the 60th minute. Sturle Åsland didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for A A Arizona. Roman Bide fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 62nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Hu Zhen Hong having to interfere. Steffen Askvik's late challenge caught a A A Arizona's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Steffen Askvik helped the player get up and apologised. After a rather tough play, Åsnes's Steffen Askvik got a free kick in the 64th minute. After recieving a nice pass, A A Arizona's Lyuboslav Penev tried to score from far away in the 65th minute, but the ball went over the crossbar. Steffen Askvik hit a great freekick 66 minutes into the match. During the 78th minute of the match Roman Bide completely mistimed his tackle and brought down his opponent. The referee gave Roman Bide a yellow card, his second in the match, which meant he could no longer take part in the game. Roman Bide kicked well hit freekick during the 79th minute of the match. After 84 minutes, Lyuboslav Penev made it 3-1 with a short kick to the right side. Åsnes's Sturle Åsland tried to save the shot but he was too slow in reacting to the shot. Natã Pereira received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 87th minute. Sturle Åsland tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Maicon Cavalcante sent away a hard shot on goal in the 89th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 93 minutes into the match, Natã Pereira notched a goal, 4-1, to the right of Åsnes's Sturle Åsland. Sturle Åsland was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. A A Arizona walked away with a well-earned victory that was much celebrated by the crowd.